As temperatures began to slowly climb into the single digits Tuesday, officials at area schools, colleges and universities began to prepare their buildings and staffs for classes on Wednesday.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

North Canton City Schools spent Tuesday morning making sure all the buildings had heat. Mechanics also started the district's 50 buses in preparation for the rest of the school week.

The third priority Tuesday was removing ice from the school grounds.

"Salt doesn't work so well at the lower temperatures, so that's going to be a concern," Director of Business Todd Henne said.

He said the district had not made a decision about whether to close school or operate on a two-hour delay Wednesday and that officials would make that call once the forecast was more certain.

Henne said on rainy or cold days, the district sometimes sees an influx of parents dropping off their children at school, which administrators understand.

"If there's a minor delay, they can work with that," he said.

The cold weather led to more cancellations Tuesday. Perry Local Schools Board of Education postponed its organizational meeting until Thursday for the same time, same place, Superintendent Marty Bowe said.

Jackson High School revised its exam schedule because of the closures, shifting all tests to Thursday and Friday, according to the district's website.

HIGHER ED

Brown Mackie College in Jackson Township delayed the start of its quarter because of cold weather, closing Monday and Tuesday.

Classes were expected to resume Wednesday, as the forecast showed the temperature climbing back into the upper teens, campus President Peter Perkowski said.

Maintenance crews spent Tuesday checking the heat in classrooms and making sure the sidewalks and parking lots were clear.

Perkowski said the college would be serving hot chocolate to students, in case they were chilly when they arrived for their 8:30 a.m. classes Wednesday.

The college plans to schedule makeup days for the students, but Perkowski said he wasn't sure when they would be.

Stark State College remained open Monday and Tuesday to accommodate the hundreds of students who had advising appointments and orientations at the start of the week, spokeswoman Irene Lewis Motts said.

The college had plans to be in operation Wednesday, too.

"The nice part about Stark State is once you come in, everything's enclosed," Motts said.

Motts said there were students in the bookstore at 7:30 a.m. to buy materials for classes, which begin Monday.

Malone University allowed students to begin moving into their dorms a day early to avoid Tuesday's arctic chill. Malone spokeswoman Susie Thomas said 60 students took advantage of the early move-in offer Monday. She said the university also has fielded calls from numerous other students about flight cancellations and ice-covered roadways that has prevented them from traveling to Canton.

Page 2 of 2 - Thomas said classes for the start of the spring semester will be held Wednesday as planned, but those students who cannot make it to the campus Wednesday due to the weather will not be penalized.